International Standard Classification of Education: ISCED 2011

Since education systems vary in structure and content across countries, the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) provides the framework for presenting data in a comparable and uniform manner. It facilitates the transformation of national education data into internationally agreed categories that make cross-national comparisons possible. ISCED is a reference classification within the United Nations International Family of Economic and Social Classifications. First developed by UNESCO in the 1970s, it has been updated periodically to reflect the ongoing evolution of education systems around the world. As such, the new ISCED 2011 classification (which replaces ISCED 1997) provides improved definitions and a greater scope to better monitor global patterns in education. To this end, the sections on tertiary and early childhood education have been substantially revised. In addition, ISCED 2011 presents new coding schemes for education programs and educational attainment. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the custodian of ISCED, responsible for its development, maintenance, updating and revision. The Institute provides guidance on the effective and consistent use of ISCED for international data collection and analysis.

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